Beachcroft LLP Bristol, 90,000 sq ft Beachcroft is now a major occupier at Portwall House, a £26m Bristol development, occupying 90,000 sq ft on the ground, first and second floors. Claremont Group Interiors was appointed as Interior Designer to create a workspace which would not only provide a statement of identity and openness, but which would also reflect the company’s corporate and brand values.
consultancy > design > furniture
Location: Portwall House, Bristol Sector: Legal Project Size: Ground Floor First Floor Second Floor
11,862 sq ft 39,300 sq ft 38,632 sq ft
Programme: 28 weeks
The Brief
The ‘village green’ in the first floor atrium. Bright colours and contemporary furniture provide a stimulating and creative space to work.
Claremont worked closely with Beachcroft and Project Managers APS on developing the brief for the building, including making best use of two atria which flood the large open plan office areas with natural light. In an increasingly competitive market, it was essential that the legal practice would have the facilities they required to work efficiently and effectively. The brief therefore included a library, client suite, café/ deli bar, informal meeting spaces and an open plan office space. Printing and reprographic hubs, service pods and refreshment areas were also required throughout the spaces. A space allocation strategy was implemented, the operational space was set at: 80 sq ft per Admin/ Fee Earner; 100 sq ft per Manager; and 150-200 sq ft per Partner.
t: 01925 284 000 w: www.claremontgi.com © 2008
Beachcroft LLP Bristol, 90,000 sq ft
consultancy > design > furniture
[Cont.] All lawyers were situated in the open plan space and the head office functions were located together on the ground floor with private spaces for use by HR and Finance functions.
The Solution The concept of linking spaces and bringing people together was based on Mondrian’s painting ‘Broadway Boogie Woogie’. The painting is a grid of clear routes and blocks of colour and this was represented by using strong colours in the floor and wall finishes. The focal point of the office in the atrium is the ‘village green’, an open space designed to encourage collaboration between teams, clients and visitors. From the entrance there is a clear journey to guide the staff up and through the building to the village green.
Above Left & Below: Piet Mondrian’s painting ‘Broadway Boogie Woogie’ provides inspiration for the strategic utilisation of blocks of colour as a branding and way-finding tool.
Designed using subtly organic shapes and intelligent planting, the village green is a perfect meeting and break-out space next to the open plan areas and library. The placement of the key elements of the design was developed to ensure that as people pass through the space, interaction between teams would naturally increase.
The Result Regional Senior Partner at Beachcroft, Michael Bothamley, comments: “It was important for us to focus on movement and openness. The original starting point for our move the building was to bring people together and move away from the “silo mentality” of some fee earners. We’ve returned to that through the development of the project, but also developed the same principles to allow clients to use the space almost as if it were their own. “ t: 01925 284 000 w: www.claremontgi.com © 2008